Clark Lea's Vanderbilt makes offer to four-star prospect Elijah Dotson to the Class of 2025

Elijah Dotson, a four-star athlete, excels as a safety, cornerback, wide receiver, return man and quarterback at Belleville High School in Detroit, Michigan. The prospect committed to the Pittsburgh Panthers on May 18, but that did not deter other programs from looking into him.

Marshall, Michigan State, Tennessee, Purdue, Illinois, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Penn State, Indiana, Louisville and Kansas have extended offers to Dotson.

On Monday, Clark Lea's Vanderbilt also offered the 6-foot-1, 170-pound prospect a scholarship for its 2025 class, which he shared on X:

"BLESSED to receive an offer from Vanderbilt #23 @RisingStars6 @BellevilleFB @calvintip87."

Vanderbilt is fresh off a phenomenal 34-27 overtime win against Virginia Tech in its season opener at FirstBank Stadium on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt is preparing a strong 2025 class. It has already received commitments from nine players, featuring promising players like Carson Lawrence, Cameran Dickson and Cayden Daniels. They also extended offers to uncommitted players like quarterback Sebastian Circo, wide receiver Jayden Guy and tight end Aaron Mattingly.

Elijah Dotson's athletic profile

According to recruiting analyst Allen Trieu, Elijah Dotson's athletic profile is distinguished by his ability to excel in various roles. He can effectively play deep in the secondary, come up into the box and match up one-on-one with slot receivers and tight ends. His incredible straight-line speed also allows him to recover and run down plays with ease.

Dotson started his high school career at Detroit Jesuit before transferring to Belleville for the latter portion of his junior year. Despite the midseason change, he finished the season with 66 tackles, three interceptions and 11 pass breakups, as well as 43 receptions for 1,653 yards and 18 total touchdowns on offense.

Dotson is a distinguished track athlete, having competed as a four-time AAU Junior Olympian and is a three-time All-State hurdler. He is ranked by On3 as the No. 15 athlete in his position and the No. 8 prospect in Michigan. 247 Sports places him as the No. 23 athlete in the class and the No. 3 prospect in the state.